On Thu, Mar 04, 2004 at 11:23:59AM -0800, Thomas Bushnell, BSG wrote: > Mike Beattie <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > > > "We're a previously persecuted minority, dammit, treat us special, we > > deserve the land you have worked hard for. even though we sit on our asses." > > New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and the United States all have some > similarity vis-a-vis native populations. But what you quote above > sounds a little like you think "We stole this land fair and square". > > I mean, if the native peoples did in fact own the land, then it's > theirs, and they are allowed to do nothing with it if they choose, and > there is something wrong with someone coming in, stealing it, working > on it, and then claiming it's now theirs. > > None of this means that *today's* Europeans have any blame, but our > ancestors surely did. The land I am on was not merely "worked for", > but also "stolen".>
well said! craig